Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello, first off, I'm not the photographer of my household. My wife is, I'm just her camera equipment guy. I do the research and figure out what equipment she needs. She's not to into the technical stuff, whereas, I can't get enough of it. Anyway, my wife is a longtime amateur and last year we actually started a photography side business. She does primarily outdoor photography, landscapes, architectural, and people. She's starting to get more and more bookings from word of mouth for family shoots, enough that we need a location for her to shoot that's more convenient than a studio share, or museum, etc.. With winter coming, we've decided to turn an unfinished area of our basement into a small "studio". The only problem is lighting, she's never used it before. I like buying direct, and I like Made in the USA, so naturally my Google Fu brought me here. From what I can tell, Alien Bees is an excellent product and a great value. So far I've found that a two strobe kit with at least 300Ws per lamp(variable power) with modeling lights should be plenty adequate for our needs. Here's the kit I'm considering.

B800-B B800 Black Studio Flash x2
CSR CyberSync Receiver (AC) x2
CST CyberSync Trigger Transmitter x1
LS3050 10-foot General Purpose Stand x2
PCBBAG Einstein/Alienbee Single Light Carrying Bag x2
PLM51-BOC PLM 51in Black Outer Cover x2
PLM51U-W-8MM 51-inch Parabolic Umbrella White with 8MM Shaft x2

So, am I on the right track? Is the B800 a bit of overkill for our needs? Is there anything I haven't thought of? Thanks in advance for any assistance, it's greatly appreciated.

Generally speaking, this is a great starting kit. Depending on the aperture she wishes to use, B800's may be fine, or they may be too much. Many newborn photographers have a hard time dialing a single B400 down low enough to shoot at f/1.4, for example. But, if you shoot in the f/8 range, then you should not have a problem with the 400's or 800's. If you will be shooting outdoors as well, then the extra power will come in handy.

Our sales staff is the best equipped to answer any sales questions, and are great at sussing out needs in a real time discussion. They can be reached at 1-800-443-5542

Thank you, I talked with customer service and ended up dropping down to the B400's. I appreciate the help!